Department for Transport

Motor Vehicles: Digital Technology

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the research by IAM RoadSmart Interacting with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay when driving: The effect on driver performance, published on 31 January, which found that touch screen dashboard controls were linked with slower driver reaction times for drivers; and whether any approval processes or minimum safety standards apply to such infotainment systems

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: In-vehicle technology has the potential to distract the driver from the driving task and the Department is conducting its own independent research into this but welcomes all contributions to help develop understanding in this area. It is however difficult to set measurable criteria to define whether a particular function is distracting and so the Department has supported initiatives to establish guiding principles which, when applied during the development of a product, should lead to a design that can be safely used within a vehicle.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Renewable Energy: Finance

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support (1) community energy, and (2) local energy development; and what funds they make available for such schemes.

Lord Callanan: Through government funding to local authorities, including the Local Government Finance Settlement, UK-wide growth funding schemes and other grant programmes, the Government is enabling local areas to tackle net zero goals in ways that best suit their needs.The Government also funds five Local Net Zero Hubs to support local authorities to develop net zero projects and attract commercial investment. As of January 2023, the Local Net Zero Hubs are working on a pipeline of projects with a projected total capital value of over £4billion.Ofgem also supports community energy projects and is now welcoming applications from community interest groups, co-operative societies, and community benefit societies to the Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme.

Public Houses

Lord Pendry: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide support to pubs deemed "at risk" by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA),given increasedenergy costs, rising food prices, and consequently suppressed consumer demand.

Lord Callanan: The Government recognises that pubs and other hospitality businesses are facing cost of living pressures. The Energy Bill Relief Scheme ensures businesses are protected from excessively high energy bills up to the 31 March 2022. Following a review of this scheme, a new Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS), will provide all eligible UK businesses and other non-domestic energy users with a discount on high energy bills from 1 April 2023 until 31 March 2024. Additionally, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a range of support measures regarding business rates worth £13.6 billion over the next 5 years.

Energy Bill Relief Scheme: Hospices

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made ofthe impact that replacing the Energy Bill Relief Scheme with the Energy Bill Discount Scheme will have on the hospice sector.

Lord Callanan: The new Energy Bill Discount Scheme (EBDS) will run from April until March 2024 and continue to provide a discount to eligible non-domestic customers including hospices. An HMT-led review into the operation of the current Energy Bill Relief Schemes was conducted with the objective of significantly reducing the overall burden on the taxpayer/public finances, and ensuring support is targeted at those most in need and unable to adjust to recent energy price rises. The review considered a range of qualitative and quantitative evidence, including input from businesses and stakeholders. The new scheme strikes a balance between supporting non-domestic customers and limiting taxpayer’s exposure to volatile energy markets, with a cap set at £5.5 billion.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Lord Foster of Bath: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the planned fivefold increase in the target for offshore wind power production by 2030, what plans they have to amend the criteria for assessing the related cumulative impact.

Lord Callanan: Ensuring environmental protections are maintained is a key component of work being undertaken by Government to facilitate the acceleration of offshore wind. The Energy Bill makes provisions to deliver the Offshore Wind Environmental Improvement Package (OWEIP), which was announced in the British Energy Security Strategy. The OWEIP will streamline Habitat Regulation Assessments, develop and implement Offshore Wind Environmental Standards, and create a Marine Recovery Fund to enable environmental compensation to be undertaken at a strategic level. This ensures developments are located where there are lower environmental sensitivities, and/or where impacts can be avoided, reduced, mitigated, or if required, compensated.

Renewable Energy: Suffolk

Lord Foster of Bath: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on (1) tourism, (2) tourism-related jobs, and (3) the environment, by (a) the planned building of Sizewell C, (b) offshore wind farms, and (c) the associated infrastructure in the Suffolk coastal area.

Lord Callanan: No individual pre-emptive assessments are made by the Government to avoid prejudicing planning decisions which are taken on the merits of each individual case. All projects are consented after thorough consideration of all relevant information, including cumulative impacts. Environmental and socio-economic impacts are considered in line with policy in the National Policy Statements. The rationale for the Secretary of State’s decision for development consent in relation to Sizewell C, consented offshore wind farms and associated infrastructure are set out in the published decision letters available on the relevant project pages of the Planning Inspectorate’s National Infrastructure Planning website.

National Grid: Public Appointments

Lord Foster of Bath: To ask His Majesty's Government what factors prevent the establishment of the National Grid Future Systems Operator by 2023.

Lord Callanan: In the Government’s consultation response published in April 2022, we proposed the creation of a new, independent Future System Operator (FSO). Depending on a number of factors, including timings of legislation, updating licensing arrangements, amending industry codes, and discussing timelines with key parties, the FSO could be established by, or in, 2024. The Primary Legislation required to establish the FSO is contained within the Energy Bill 2023, which is currently passing through Parliament. Subject to reaching Royal Assent, we aim to establish the FSO as soon as practicable, while maintaining the safety and stability of the energy systems and ensuring a smooth transition.

Electricity Generation: Offshore Industry

Lord Foster of Bath: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment has been made of the suitability of the use of Modular Offshore grids in the North Sea corridor to transportpower closer to demand; and what assessment they have made of the implementation of Belgium’s offshore grid in this regard.

Lord Callanan: The Electricity System Operator has undertaken consideration of the best approach to coordinate offshore transmission infrastructure to deliver greater efficiencies, reductions in planned infrastructure and accelerate the offshore wind delivery. Belgium’s Modular Offshore Grid connects several wind farms via a single cable. The UK’s Holistic Network Design delivers a similar outcome at greater scale, covering 21GW of offshore generation in its first round and 23GW in its second. Our approach will utilise shared connection points for multiple generators and aims to use multipurpose interconnectors to transmit energy from generators to consumers; reducing costs and impacts for developers, communities, and bill-payers.

Wind Power: East Anglia

Lord Foster of Bath: To ask His Majesty's Government why, in contrast to other regions, the Holistic Network Design impact criteria are not being used to assess the suitability of sites for offshore wind power infrastructure in East Anglia.

Lord Callanan: The Holistic Network Design (HND) was published in July 2022. For offshore wind projects that do not yet have firm connection contracts, the HND recommends network solutions that deliver coordination, cost and efficiency benefits and an overall reduction in new infrastructure. However it cannot mandate changes to projects with pre-existing connection contracts, including many in East Anglia. For these, the Government has launched the £100m capital grant scheme to support the development of voluntary coordination options.

Wind Power: Greater London

Lord Foster of Bath: To ask His Majesty's Government why the Offshore Transmission Network Review did not involve a comparative assessment of alternative brownfield sites closer to London for offshore wind power connections to the grid than sites in East Anglia.

Lord Callanan: The Offshore Transmission Network Review seeks address the uncoordinated growth of offshore transmission assets and develop a more coordinated approach to the design and delivery of transmission for offshore wind in Great Britain. For projects that already had firm connection contracts, limited changes could be made without breaking those commercial contracts, which is something the government has no power to do. For these projects, the Government has launched a £100m funding scheme to support developers to develop options for voluntary coordination. This could include reconsideration of some cable routes to reduce landing zones and use brownfield sites.

Local Government: Carbon Emissions

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to supportlocal authorities to de-risk net zero projects.

Lord Callanan: The Government’s Local Net Zero Hubs Programme supports local authorities with their capability and capacity to meet net zero. We have also funded work to develop business models to increase private sector investment in local net zero.

Vacancies

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address labour shortages in the (1) road haulage, (2) tourism, and (3) hospitality, sectors in the (a) short term, and (b) long term.

Lord Callanan: The Government is working to alleviate labour shortages in all sectors and is removing employment barriers by boosting wages via the National Living Wage, and furthering workers’ rights, which is particularly important for lower-paid sectors. The Government is also reforming the skills system to ensure an appropriately-skilled workforce. To address haulage shortages, the Government took over 30 actions, including investing £34m in Skills Bootcamps to train over 11,000 people to become HGV drivers in England. The newly-created Hospitality & Tourism Skills Board will focus on the medium-to-long term objectives of increasing recruitment, enhancing retention, and building an appropriately-skilled tourism workforce.

Energy: Meters

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Callanan on 30 January (HL4760), whatassessment they have made ofthe case for restricting theimposition of prepayment meters on energy consumers.

Lord Callanan: Prepayment meters allow customers to control and budget for the amount they spend on energy and help to mitigate the risk of going into or exacerbating existing debt. A restriction on installation of prepayment meters as a last resort would leave court enforcement as the only recourse in cases of non-payment and large debt. Ofgem has stringent rules on force-fitting prepayment meters. The Government has no plans to restrict this option.

Housing: Solar Power

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment theyhave made of the impact of on-site solar generation on reducing energy bills for households.

Lord Callanan: On-site solar generation enables households to reduce their energy bills with savings being dependent on the output from the device, the demand profile for the property and the tariff if exporting to the grid.

Energy: Disconnections

Baroness Altmann: To ask His Majesty's Government what protections they have in place to prevent energy firms from leaving households without power in their homes; and what penalties are imposed on energy firms that do not take sufficient care of vulnerable customers or which wrongly disconnect customers.

Lord Callanan: Ofgem rules include an Ability to Pay Principle that requires suppliers to provide appropriate support for those struggling to pay their bills. Support may include setting up appropriate repayment plans based on a customer’s ability to pay, and by directing the customer to further support services. Ofgem is responsible for ensuring licensed energy suppliers are complying with their licence conditions. Ofgem publishes details of its compliance and enforcement action on its website.

Energy: Price Caps

Baroness Altmann: To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to reforming the way in which Ofgem manages the energy price cap.

Lord Callanan: There are no plans to do this. As the expert independent regulator, Ofgem is responsible for operating the price cap. Ofgem remains the sole decision-maker over how it is calculated and has consulted extensively on its methodology for determining the cap level. The Government has confidence in Ofgem to set the cap at a level that reflects the underlying efficient costs of supplying energy. The price cap was never intended to be a permanent feature of the market. As announced in the Autumn Statement, we are developing a new approach to protecting consumers’ energy prices from April 2024.

Energy: Prices

Baroness Altmann: To ask His Majesty's Government what instructions they have given to Ofgem on ensuring that the costs of failed energy firms do not fall more heavily on vulnerable customers and single person households.

Lord Callanan: The costs of failed energy firms have contributed to an increase in standing charges. The energy regulator, Ofgem, reviewed whether the existing fixed charge was appropriate or whether a usage-based (volumetric) alternative would be more suitable. Ofgem concluded that while some low consuming users, some of whom may be vulnerable, might benefit from change, there are a number of higher consuming users including vulnerable users that would pay more. Ofgem’s current methodology protects users with greater energy needs, such as disabled users and users with electric heating in areas off the gas grid.

Energy: Standing Charges

Baroness Altmann: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of increasing the retail customer energy standing charge; and what proportion of the increase in the standing charge is due to the need to compensate the customers of failed energy firms.

Lord Callanan: The maximum standing charge is limited by the Ofgem price cap. Ofgem reviewed the components of the standing charge in the Summer of 2022 and concluded that maintaining the existing methodology would protect consumers with the greatest energy needs. Standing charges vary by region, billing method and energy type and range from approximately £99 to £205. In figures published by Ofgem in November 2022, Supplier of Last Resort costs (for those customers whose provider ceases trading) accounts for £61 in the average customer’s energy bill.

Health Professions: Migrant Workers

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that individual healthcare recruits from India are being charged significant sums of money to obtain a work permit and visa; and whether this is prohibited by section 6(i) of the Employment Agencies Act 1973.

Lord Callanan: We have noted the reports of unethical and exploitative practices in this sector. To address this the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has recently published guidance aimed at candidates who are applying for health and social care jobs in the UK from abroad. It provides information on how to avoid scams, working rights and standards, what to consider when deciding whether to take a health or care job in the UK and where to go for further guidance, help or support. Section 6 of the Employment Agencies Act 1973 (EAA 1973) prohibits the charging of work-finding fees to work-seekers wherever they are recruited from, provided the agency is operating in Great Britain. Agencies are permitted to charge fees for other paid-for services and can pass on visa costs to work-seekers, but this should be clearly set out in writing to the work-seeker. The Employment Agency Standards (EAS) Inspectorate continues to work closely with DHSC to ensure their guidance aligns with these requirements.

Buildings: Energy

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsteps they are taking to introduce new energy performance standards; and when they expect them to be introduced.

Lord Callanan: In September 2020, the Government published an Energy Performance Certificate Action Plan detailing a series of commitments to maximise the effectiveness of Energy Performance Certificates. In November (2021), the Action Plan Progress Report was published detailing the significant progress made in delivering the commitments. The Department continues to work closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on progressing the outstanding actions in the Energy Performance Certificate Action Plan.ENERGY PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATES - Action plan (pdf, 253.3KB)

Electricity: Prices

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to reduce the standing charge on domestic household bills, and (2) to charge this to the recent profits announced by electricity distribution companies.

Lord Callanan: The setting of the standing charge is a commercial matter for individual suppliers. Under the Price Cap, a supplier’s default and standard variable tariffs unit rate and standing charge together must not exceed the level of the cap set by Ofgem. The profits made by distribution network companies are regulated by Ofgem through the price control to ensure sufficient incentives for networks to deliver for consumers, whilst protecting consumers from high costs. The next price control begins in April, where returns for these companies will be set lower than previous price controls.

Audit: Reform

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to publish the draft Audit Reform Bill.

Lord Callanan: The Government published its Response to the White Paper, ‘Restoring Trust in Audit and Corporate Governance’ on 31 May 2022. The Response stated that the reforms will be delivered by a variety of mechanisms. This includes changes already made by the regulator and by Ministerial Direction. The Government is committed to legislating when Parliamentary time allows.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas: Retail Trade

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government how many liquified petroleum gas retailers there are in the UK; how many have closed in the past year; and what plans they have to ensure supplies continue for the next decade.

Lord Callanan: The Government does not collect this data. However, Liquid Gas UK reports that they know of 31 companies which distribute liquid petroleum gas (LPG) to customers and businesses across the UK and none have closed in the past year. The UK continues to enjoy a robust supply chain for LPG, which is met by domestic production and by imported cargoes. The Government works closely with industry to monitor the LPG supply position throughout the year and proactively take steps to mitigate any risks that may affect distribution to customers and essential services.

Northern Ireland Office

Police Service of Northern Ireland: Finance

Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to paragraph 17 of Annex A of the New Decade, New Approach Deal, published in January 2020, how much additional resources they have allocated to the Police Service of Northern Ireland since the Deal was agreed.

Lord Caine: Policing is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s main budget is allocated by the Department of Justice from the Northern Ireland block grant.The recent Budget that the Secretary of State set for Northern Ireland provides the Northern Ireland Department of Justice with a 3.1% uplift on its 2021-2022 budget with a total allocation of £1.18 billion.Since 2010, the UK Government has also provided the PSNI with the additional security funding it needs to ensure that it has the resources to tackle the threat from Northern Ireland-related terrorism. This additional security funding ensures PSNI’s ability to tackle the terrorist threat while ensuring day-to-day policing is not compromised. The contribution for the financial year 2022/23 is £32 million. This is the same that has been provided each year since 2015/16. This continued level of Additional Security Funding for the PSNI from the UKG has been confirmed through to 2024/25.In addition to the direct support to the PSNI through Additional Security Funding, the Government has also committed circa £8 million per year (through the spending review 2021 and New Decade New Approach funding) to the Tackling Paramilitarism Programme to match NI Executive funding until the end of the second phase of the Programme in March 2024. The Programme supports the Paramilitary Crime Task Force, which includes PSNI, the National Crime Agency and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

War Memorials Trust: Northern Ireland

Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to paragraph 21 of Annex A of the New Decade, New Approach Deal, published in January 2020, how they have ensured that the work of the War Memorials Trust has been better promoted and understood in Northern Ireland.

Lord Caine: Officials have been engaging with the Department of Communities in order to ensure that our work on this commitment both complements the Department’s strategic approach and existing policies on built heritage in Northern Ireland, and is proportional to current pressures on public spending.

UK Internal Trade: Northern Ireland

Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to paragraph 10 of Annex A of the New Decade, New Approach Deal, published in January 2020, what steps they have taken to secure Northern Ireland’s place within the internal market of the UK.

Lord Caine: The Northern Ireland Protocol makes clear that Northern Ireland remains part of the UK internal market and the Government legislated under the 2020 UK Internal Market access to provide for unfettered access to the UK internal market for Northern Ireland goods. It is clear, however, that the Protocol is causing real problems in Northern Ireland. It is our clear preference to resolve these through talks and the Government is engaging in constructive dialogue with the EU to find solutions to these problems. If this is not possible, however, we have introduced the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill which aims to fix the practical problems created by the Protocol.

Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus: Immunosuppression

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Kamall on 12 April 2022 (HL7711), what the findings of theOCTAVE-DUO work were on providing evidence of immune response following subsequent vaccine doses for the immunocompromised.

Lord Markham: The results of the OCTAVE-DUO study, funded by £2.2 million from the Vaccine Taskforce and UK Research and Innovation, have not yet been published. Publication is planned and results will be published in due course. Exact timings are not known as this will follow independent peer review.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Empey: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of giving (1) children under five years old, and (2) adults under 50 years old, access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Lord Markham: The Government continues to be guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on who should be offered COVID-19 vaccinations. On 6 December 2022, the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approved the COVID-19 vaccine Pfizer infant formulation (Comirnaty 3) for children aged six months to four years old. The JCVI’s advice will be published in due course on whether COVID-19 vaccination should be offered to any children in this age group now that a vaccine is available.People who were five years old or older as of 31 August 2022 are currently eligible for primary vaccination and those aged 16 or over are also entitled to an initial booster. Those who are at higher risk of serious outcomes from COVID-19 are eligible for a further seasonal booster under the current autumn campaign.The autumn booster campaign will close in England on 12 February 2023, as will the offer of an initial booster for persons aged 16 to 49 years who are not in a clinical risk group. We encourage everyone currently eligible to come forward before these offers close.In line with the JCVI’s advice, the primary course offer of COVID-19 vaccination will now move towards a more targeted offer limited to vaccination campaigns for those at higher risk of severe COVID-19. This means that the offer of primary vaccination will end for those aged under 50 who are not in an at-risk group. The Government is considering when during 2023 this recommendation should be implemented. The JCVI continues to review evidence and will provide further advice regarding the 2023 vaccination programmes in due course.

Food: Surveys

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to expanding the sample size for the Food Standards Agency’s Food and You 2 survey to a minimum of 10,000 households.

Lord Markham: The Food Standards Agency currently has no plans to increase the sample size for the Food and You 2 Survey. Each biannual wave of fieldwork contains a sample size of 4,000 households, with 2,000 in England, and 1,000 in each of Wales and Northern Ireland. This provides sufficient accuracy at a 95% confidence level for the survey’s key estimates. The random probability sampling approach, by which households are randomly selected from the postcode address file, and use of weighting helps to ensure the results are representative of the population. Where greater accuracy is required, responses from multiple survey waves can be combined.The higher survey delivery costs associated with a larger sample size outweigh the benefits from an increase in accuracy.

NHS and Social Services: Staff

Lord Scriven: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their emergencycare plan announced on 30 January,how many extra staff will be required by (1) the NHS, and (2) social care, to staff the new tailored support at home services and keep people out of hospital.

Lord Markham: NHS England has asked systems as part of the 2023/24 planning round to develop and implement integrated urgent & emergency care workforce plans based on capacity and demand assessments in line with local population need. These plans will consider wider out-of-hospital services, including community services such as rehabilitation, therapy and reablement, and community nursing. As such, specific figures are still under consideration. To scale virtual wards, NHS England will develop a national workforce recruitment capacity and capability plan, which will include multi-disciplinary teams, including staff with training in frailty, access to specialist and consultant oversight required to deliver hospital level care at home, and the therapy workforce. The Government has also made available up to £2.8 billion in 2023/24 and £4.7 billion in 2024/25 to support adult social care and discharge.This funding will help local authorities address waiting lists, low fee rates, and workforce pressures in the social care sector.

Health services: Staff

Lord Scriven: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their emergency care plan announced on 30 January,how many extra staff will be required to staff the extra (1) hospital beds, and (2) ambulances.

Lord Markham: While all areas of the National Health Service workforce are under pressure, we know that there are specific areas of the urgent & emergency care (UEC) workforce which we need to expand. Further detail will be set out as part of the long-term workforce plan, to be published this year.NHS England has asked systems as part of the 2023/24 planning round to develop and implement integrated UEC workforce plans based on capacity and demand assessments in line with local population need. As such, the number of extra staff required is still under consideration.

Public Health: Finance

Baroness Barker: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of thecorrelation between reductions in public health funding and increases in rates of (1) syphilis, and (2) gonorrhoea.

Lord Markham: We have not made a specific assessment of a correlation between the Government’s public health funding and rates of syphilis and gonorrhoea in England. Local government is responsible for commissioning sexual health services through the public health grant, and the Government allocated more than £3 billion for the public health grant in 2022/23. We will announce the 2023/24 public health grant allocations to local authorities in due course.

Dental Services

Baroness Pidding: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the number of registered mobile dentists in England.

Lord Markham: The information is not held centrally.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Strathcarron: To ask His Majesty's Government why, in advertisements distributed as part of NHS public health campaigns, the word "safe" has been used to promote the COVID-19 vaccines, given that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's Blue Guide, published in November 2020, saysthat "advertising which states or implies that a product is 'safe' is unacceptable".

Lord Markham: The Winter Vaccinations campaign ‘Boost Your Immunity This Winter’ ran over two years (2021/22 and 2022/23). The campaign prompted those eligible to get a COVID-19 booster to ‘Get Vaccinated. Get Boosted. Get Protected’. The Department is unable to locate any paid advertising – delivered as part of this multi-year campaign – using the word ‘safe’ to encourage uptake of COVID-19 vaccines. Our aim is that all paid advertising follows Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and Advertising Standards Authority guidance.

Processed Food: Sugar

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce the sugar content of processed food, following the finding by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities that targets for sugar reduction since 2015 have not been met.

Lord Markham: The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities is considering the next steps for the sugar reduction programme and will continue to provide expert advice to the Government on this. It is expected the Government’s policies to tackle obesity will support efforts for sugar reduction. These include regulations restricting the placement of products high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS) in key selling locations in stores and online, which came into force on 1 October 2022 and are the single most impactful obesity policy at reducing children’s calorie consumption. Furthermore, the Government will introduce restrictions on the advertising of HFSS products on TV before 9pm and on paid-for advertising of these products online on 1 October 2025. A key intention of this policy is to incentivise reformulation of HFSS products, so these are no longer captured by the restrictions.

Ambulance Services: Motor Vehicles

Lord Scriven: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their emergency care plan announced on 30 January, how many of the 800 new ambulances will be (1) replacing existing ambulances, or (2) extra vehicles on the road.

Lord Markham: The Department published its Delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services on 30 January 2023 and set out that ‘over 800 new ambulances are expected to be available during 2023/24, with the majority expected to be available ahead of winter, as part of ongoing improvement and replacement of our fleet, including 100 new specialist mental health response vehicles’. A copy of the delivery plan is attached.As always there is a churn of old vehicles being taken off the road, but we still expect a significant increase in the overall size of the fleet of roughly 10% of the current fleet, equivalent to approximately 350 new vehicles, in addition to 100 new mental health ambulances.Attachment (pdf, 636.3KB)

Coronavirus: Immunosuppression

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minster of State for the Department of Health and Social Care on 27 January (127906), what steps they will take to explore a Covid antibody testing study; and why Evusheld still has not been delivered, given the recommendation by the Chief Medical Officer on 24 August 2022 to "consider the options for identifying the potentially eligible patients who might benefit from this medicine".

Lord Markham: The Antivirals and Therapeutics Taskforce are working with COVID-19 antibody testing experts to develop a study, building on existing data and research infrastructure to build evidence for more informed decisions for clinical interventions and the level of protective behaviours based on an individual patient’s risk. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is conducting a Health Technology Assessment of Evusheld. This is the routine process for new medicines to be evaluated for clinical and cost effectiveness, which will provide recommendations through NICE’s guidance on the use of Evusheld in the National Health Service. The process includes considering ‘the options for identifying the potentially eligible patients who might benefit from this medicine’, as recommended by RAPID C-19.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that alcohol harm rates do not increase following the increase in relative affordability of alcohol compared to fruit juice and other non-alcoholic drinks, given the link between alcohol affordability and harm.

Lord Markham: We continue to monitor the impact of the alcohol affordability on alcohol consumption and associated harms. The reforms of alcohol duty will, for the first time, tax all alcohol according to strength, helping to target problem drinking by taxing products associated with alcohol-related harm at a higher rate of duty. These reforms will be implemented from 1 August 2023.

Health Services and Social Services: Inspections

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask His Majesty's Government to what extent inspection reports by the Care Quality Commission examine claims made by sponsoring organisations regarding those organisations' recruitment, training and contract practices.

Lord Markham: As the independent regulator of health and social care in England, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors, inspects and rates health and social care services to make sure people receive safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care, and encourages care services to improve.CQC publishes inspection reports on its website, through which it sets out its findings. CQC’s inspection reports may include its ratings, as well as information on good practice, concerns, and evidence of breaches of regulation CQC has found. CQC’s assessments consider providers’ approach to staff training and wellbeing, and where CQC receives information of concern about a provider it may carry out additional assessment activity. The professional regulators also have responsibility for ensuring health and care professionals have appropriate qualifications.

Dental Services

Baroness Pidding: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, what steps they are taking to ensure the resumption of mobile dental services for housebound patients in England; and what guidance is available to the public advising how these services can be accessed.

Lord Markham: The commissioning responsibility for dental services lies with seven regions across England who will have local processes in place, including identifying areas of need and determining the priorities for investment to meet those needs, including services for housebound patients. Following the resumption of face-to-face dental services on 8 June 2020, dental providers were asked to prioritise urgent care and high needs vulnerable patients. Information on dental treatment for people with special needs, including how housebound patients can access domiciliary services, is available in an online-only format on the National Health Service website. Community dental services provide specialised dental services and are available in a variety of places to ensure everyone can have access to dental care. These include hospitals, specialists’ health centres and mobile clinics, as well as home visits or visits in nursing and care homes.

Infant Mortality

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the rise in trauma deaths and sudden unexpected deaths in infancy and childhood (Sudic) in 2022; in particular, that four times as many deaths occurred in the most deprived fifth of the population, compared with the least deprived fifth; and what steps they plan to take, if any, in response.

Lord Markham: We are committed to the health service learning from child deaths. In 2018, NHS England supported the establishment of the National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) to record comprehensive data on the circumstances of children’s deaths and reduce preventable child mortality in England. The Government is considering the NCMD report on Sudden and Unexpected Deaths in Infancy and Childhood published in December 2022. Instances of sudden unexpected death in infancy often link in with wider health disparities and modifiable factors such as smoking in pregnancy and in the home. Frontline health professionals have tools and processes in place to deliver guidance to families to promote safe sleeping for babies. There is a significant amount of work taking place to tackle smoking in pregnancy, across many agencies. The National Institute for Health and Care Research is funding a study looking at promoting safer sleeping for babies in high-risk groups in England and a research project into effective mechanisms for reducing abusive head trauma in young infants. The Department is working with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to help tackle unsafe homes. This includes developing new guidance on damp and mould for the housing sector, extending the Decent Home Standard to the private rented sector and a number of other amendments through the Renters Reform Bill and Social Housing (Regulation) Bill. Minister Neil O’Brien gave a speech at a Westminster Hall Debate on 17 January this year on the important issue of sudden unexpected death in childhood. The transcript is available on Hansard.

Evusheld

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Markham on 28 November 2022 (HL3401), whether they can provide further information on (1) the additional expert advice received, (2) when this advice was sought and received, (3) who were the experts, and (4) who they reported to.

Lord Markham: The expert advice used to determine the cohorts eligible for COVID-19 treatment was led by the Therapeutics Clinical Review Panel. The panel periodically reviews new evidence on the definition and revision of eligible cohorts for COVID-19 therapeutics from several sources, including clinical evidence and expert groups. The Independent Advisory Group, led by Professor Iain McInnes, produced a report on the potential cohorts eligible for pre-exposure prophylaxis. This clinical advice was agreed by the panel and has been submitted to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as part of their Health Technology Evaluation of Evusheld. The materials submitted to the NICE committee will be published once the process has completed.

Huntington's Disease: Mental Health Services

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which people with Huntington’s disease who are displaying mental health symptoms are able to access community mental health services.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which people with organic brain disorders who require mental health support are able to access community mental health services.

Lord Markham: No such assessment has been made. Access to National Health Service mental health services is based on clinical need, including for patients with Huntington’s disease and organic brain disorders. The NHS Long Term Plan commits an additional £2.3 billion a year for the expansion and transformation of mental health services in England by 2023/24 so that an additional two million people, including those with Huntington’s disease and organic brain disorders, can get the NHS-funded mental health support that they need.

NHS England: Data Protection

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will raise with NHS England the concerns of the Independent Group Advising on the Release of Data regarding the amount of time they had to comment on the draft guidance on NHS England’s protection of patient data.

Lord Markham: The Independent Advisory Group on the Release of Data (IGARD) was asked to provide feedback on Draft guidance on NHS England’s protection of patient data, which was published on 23 January 2023 in an online-only format. We expect to continue receiving feedback from members of IGARD and other stakeholders on this draft and identify issues to address before the guidance is finalised, which we intend to do by the end of February 2023. IGARD has also been actively involved in developing draft Terms of Reference (ToR) for the new data advisory group to be established in line with the draft statutory guidance. The ToR will continue to be developed and will be finalised to reflect the statutory guidance once finalised.

Wheelchairs

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government where ministerial responsibility lies for NHS Wheelchair Services.

Lord Markham: Maria Caulfield MP is the minister responsible for NHS Wheelchair Services. As Minister for Mental Health and Women’s Health Strategy, disabilities including autism are part of her portfolio. The minister has held this role since 27 October 2022.

Liothyronine: Prescriptions

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the NHS costs incurred by sending thyroid patients to secondary care for liothyronine, givenNHS England national guidance only requires initiation of treatment in secondary care but allows regular prescribing in primary care.

Lord Markham: No specific assessments have been made of the costs of reviewing patients currently prescribed liothyronine in secondary care.

Wheelchairs

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Integrated Care Boards adopt the Wheelchair Charter, as supported by NHS England.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what processes have been established within Integrated Care Boards to audit Wheelchair Service standards of service.

Lord Markham: Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the development, provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services. NHS England has committed to develop a framework for ICBs to support them in commissioning effective, efficient and personalised wheelchair services. The framework will include the updated Wheelchair Charter.Regarding the processes established within individual ICBs to audit Wheelchair Service standards of service, the Government does not hold this information centrally.

NHS: Brexit

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment theyhave made of the effects of the UK's departure from the EU on the National Health Service.

Lord Markham: As part of our reforms following the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union (EU), provisions within the Medicines and Medical Devices Act 2021 enable us to overhaul medical devices and clinical trial frameworks so patients can get access to new lifesaving medicines and medical devices more quickly. The Department closely monitors National Health Service and adult social care staffing levels in England, with data showing that since leaving the EU we have seen an increase in EU/EEA staff working in the NHS.We are also working closely with suppliers, NHS England, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the devolved governments, and other stakeholders to ensure patients continue to have access to the treatments they need.

Immunosuppression: Coronavirus

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Kamall on 7 June 2022 (HL500), which advisory body reviewed the National Institute for Health and Care Research rapid study on those who remain vulnerable to poor outcomes from COVID-19 despite vaccination; and what conclusions it drew from the review.

Lord Markham: The Therapeutics Clinical Review Panel periodically reviews new evidence on the definition and revision of eligible cohorts from COVID-19 therapeutics from several sources, including clinical evidence, expert groups and external stakeholders. The Panel met on 31 January to consider more recent evidence on COVID-19 risk. Expert groups were commissioned to consider the emerging evidence on COVID-19 risk. Their analyses included the National Institute for Health and Care Research rapid study on those who remain vulnerable to poor outcomes from COVID-19 despite vaccination alongside other data sets. The panel is considering these analyses and should any changes to the cohorts eligible for COVID-19 treatments be made an update will be provided.

Coronavirus: Screening

Viscount Camrose: To ask His Majesty's Government how many COVID-19 lateral flow test kitsthey purchased since January 2020;what was the total cost of those tests; how many tests were distributed; andwhat estimate they have made of how many were used.

Lord Markham: The Department purchased approximately 2.6 billion lateral flow device (LFD) tests between September 2020 and March 2022. It is not possible to provide data for April 2022 and beyond at this time as it is not yet validated for release. We are unable to provide the information requested on the total costs of LFD tests as this information is commercially sensitive. A table showing the number of LFD tests distributed up until May 2022 is attached. Whilst we collect data on tests recorded, this data does not necessarily equate to used tests as not everybody records the results of tests that they have used.Number of LFD tests distributed up until May 2022 (xls, 43.5KB)

Health Services

The Lord Bishop of London: To ask His Majesty's Government what the consultation process will be in the development of their Major Conditions Strategy.

Lord Markham: The Major Conditions Strategy will consider major conditions in the round, including disparities due to geography and other factors. Many stakeholders have already responded to government consultations on mental health, dementia, health disparities and cancer. We will draw on the insights and evidence provided through these processes and the Department will set out opportunities to contribute further in due course.

Department for Education

Department for Education: EU Law

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government which retained EU laws the Department for Education is planning to reform or revoke in the event of a passage into law of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill.

Baroness Barran: Individual departments are in the process of assessing the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill and developing proposals for whether they intend to revoke or reform each piece of legislation or preserve it from the sunset.The department will be ambitious but mindful in ensuring that businesses and stakeholders are engaged and consulted in the usual way on policy changes, whilst upholding commitments already given at the despatch box.It is right that, seven years after the British public voted to leave the EU, and three years since the UK formally left, that the programme to review, revoke and reform retained EU law is underway, and we take advantage of our new freedoms.

Birkbeck, University of London: Mathematics

Baroness Garden of Frognal: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of theimpact of proposed budget cuts to Birkbeck University’s Mathematics and Statistics Department on opportunities for (1) mature, and (2) Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME), students.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of proposed cuts to university mathematics departments, including Birkbeck University, on their ambition for the UK to become a science and technology superpower.

Baroness Barran: Higher education (HE) providers are independent, autonomous institutions responsible for their own decisions on staffing issues, including how they structure themselves to deliver research and teaching priorities. Where it is necessary to reshape their activities, it is important that universities carefully consider the impact of job losses on staff and students, and the overall sustainability of teaching and research in this country.The department will continue to work closely with the Office for Students (OfS) and various parties, including a variety of HE providers across the sector, mission groups and other Government departments, to understand the ongoing impacts and changing landscape of financial sustainability in the HE sector.We want to provide a ladder of opportunity for everyone to get the education and skills they need for job security and prosperity and to support levelling up across the country. Access to HE should be based on a student’s attainment and their ability to succeed, rather than background.The government has issued guidance to the OfS, asking it to refocus the entire access and participation regime to create a system that supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds by ensuring students are able to make the right choices and to access and succeed on high quality courses that are valued by employers and lead to good graduate employment.John Blake, as the Director for Fair Access and Participation, is driving forward this important change. Using his experience and expertise from the schools’ sector, he is supporting and challenging providers to identify what will ultimately help students progress on their course and obtain good outcomes from their degree, such as programmes of intervention in schools, summer schools, and targeted bursaries to assist with living costs.The government is committed to cementing the UK’s status as a science and technology superpower, levelling up across the country.To achieve this, the UK needs talented people with the right knowledge, skills, and experience. We are investing in programmes that do this at all levels of education, including through:My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister‘s recently announced mission to ensure all pupils study some form of maths to 18.Investing an additional £750 million over the next three years to support high quality teaching and facilities including in science and engineering, subjects that support the NHS, and degree apprenticeships. This includes the largest increase in government funding for the HE sector to support students and teaching in over a decade.Several government strategies are in place to support our science and technology superpower ambition, in specific areas including the UK Innovation Strategy (2021), the National AI Strategy (2021), and the UK Digital Strategy (2022). They set out how we will strengthen our reserves of talent and skills in order to drive success.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Tunisia: Elections

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will make representations to the government of Tunisia on (1) preserving the independence and constitutional authority of the Independent High Authority for Elections, and (2) seeking to ensure that the Independent High Authority for Elections leader, Sami Ben Slama, is allowed full defence in respect of the charges pending against him.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is aware of the changes to the Independent High Authority for Elections. The UK believes that checks and balances are needed in all political systems, as core components of a functioning, transparent democracy. This is something that we have regularly raised with the Tunisian Government since 25 July 2021.The UK is aware of the legal case being brought against Sami Ben Sala. We regularly raise respect for human rights and due legal process with the Tunisian Government. All legitimate political actors should be able to operate, and the judiciary must carry out its work independently and transparently. We regularly raise human rights with the Tunisian authorities, and will continue to do so.

Tunisia: Elections

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will make representations to the government of Tunisia for independent observers to be admitted to the forthcoming elections in that country.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Tunisian authorities permitted international observers in the first round of legislative elections on 17 December. In the second round of legislative elections on 29 January, international observers will also be permitted.

Development Aid

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the impact of UK development aid on local NGOs working in East Africa in 2021, and (2) whether the current model, which channels the majority of foreign aid to theUnited Nations, is compatible with their commitment to localising humanitarian aid.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) play a central role in delivering UK funded humanitarian support in East Africa. For example, in 2021 the Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund, supported by the UK, reached 3.2 million people with life-saving aid with more than 30 national and international NGOs involved in delivery. More broadly, the FCDO supports a number of Country based Pooled Funds (CBPF) and in 2022, 21.7% of funding allocated by CBPFs went directly to national NGOs. The UK also uses its voice on multilateral boards to ensure decisions align with UK priorities such as the International Development Strategy's commitment to locally-led decision-making.

Ministry of Defence

KFOR

Baroness Helic: To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) personnel, and (2)financial, contribution they made to NATO’s (Kosovo Force) KFOR in (a) 2020/21, (b) 2021/22, and (c) the current financial year.

Baroness Goldie: The UK directly contributes both persistently deployed troops and the UK based Over the Horizon Strategic Reserve Force to the NATO mission in Kosovo KFOR The UK’s direct personnel and financial contribution to KFOR in 2020-21; 2021-22 and the current financial year (FY) is shown in the table below: FYPersonnel in theatreFinancial Contribution2020-2137Disaggregated figure unavailable2021-2241£1,359,456.892022-2341£1,441,218.47**Forecast In addition, NATO HQ Kosovo is funded through NATO’s Military Budget, to which the UK contributes a national cost share (currently 11.3%). Per calendar year, this share amounts to €1.9 million in 2020, €2.2 million in 2021, €2.4 million in 2022, and €2.5 million in 2023.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: NATO

Baroness Helic: To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) personnel, and (2) financial, contribution they made to NATO HQ in Bosnia and Herzegovina in (a) 2020/21, (b) 2021/22, and (c) the current financial year.

Baroness Goldie: The UK’s direct personnel and financial contribution to NATO HQ in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2020-21; 2021-22 and the current financial year (FY) is shown in the table below: FYPersonnel in theatreFinancial Contribution2020-212No finance data available*2021-222£37,013.442022-233£25,000.00 ** * Costs for the UK’s contribution to NATO HQ Sarajevo Staff Officer postings are unavailable due to these financial contributions being reported as one sum for Op ELGIN (KFOR, Op REHEARSAL, NATO HQ Sa). In FY2020-21 these costs totalled £2,733,351.11 and were not disaggregated by Operation. ** Forecast at AP12 FY2022/23 NATO HQ Sarajevo is funded through NATO’s Military Budget, to which the UK contributes a national cost share (currently 11.3%). Per calendar year, this share amounts to €415,000 in 2020, €493,000 in 2021, €533,000 in 2022 and €572,000 for 2023.

Typhoon Aircraft

Lord Rogan: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to upgrade the Royal Air Force Typhoon aircraft; and what are the numbers per annum projected to leave service in future.

Baroness Goldie: I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given to Lord Goddard of Stockport on 24 January 2022 to Question HL4609.Typhoon Aircraft (docx, 22.0KB)

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Children

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks byViscount Younger of Leckie on 24 January (HL Deb cols 93–94), what plans they have, if any, (1) to publish regular data on the numbers of families and children affected simultaneously by the benefit cap and the two-child limit, and (2) to monitor the impact on these families and children.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Department does not currently have plans to publish this data on a regular basis. However, the estimate, provided on 24 January, is based on published statistics for April 2022 which show the percentage of UC Households with three or more children who were not receiving a child element amount for at least one child. This percentage was applied to UC households that were benefit capped in April 2022 and have 3 or more children. Consequently we are able to estimate the number affected on an ongoing basis from the analysis that is already published. The Department takes the impact of its policies very seriously and is why we introduce certain exceptions to these policies. We acknowledge that some households are affected simultaneously by both policies as such there is other support available. For example families can apply to their Local Authority for a Discretionary Housing Payment if they need help to meet rental costs. There is also help with the cost of essentials through the Household Support Fund. Our focus, however, remains firmly on supporting people to move into and progress in work; an approach which is based on clear evidence that it is in the best interest of children to be in working households.

Cost of Living Payments

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provide financial support to those most in need to assist with the increased cost of living.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living this winter and is taking action to help. The Government's Energy Price Guarantee will save a typical British household around £900 this winter, based on what energy prices would have been under the current price cap - reducing bills by roughly a third. This is in addition to the £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme, paid over six months starting in October 2022. For those who require additional support the current Household Support Fund, running in England from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023, is providing £421 million of funding. The devolved administrations have been allocated £79 million through the Barnett formula.  The Household Support Fund will continue until March 2024. This year long extension allows Local Authorities in England to continue to provide discretionary support to those most in need with the significantly rising cost of living. The Devolved Administrations will receive consequential funding as usual to spend at their discretion. In 2023/24, subject to parliamentary approval, we are uprating all benefit rates and State Pensions by 10.1%, in order to increase the number of households who can benefit from these uprating decisions the benefit cap levels are also increasing by the same amount. In addition, for 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments. This will be split into three payments of around £300 each across the 2023/24 financial year. A separate £300 payment will be made to pensioner households on top of their Winter Fuel Payments and individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits will receive a £150 payment. Further to this, the amended Energy Price Guarantee will save the average UK household £500 in 2023/24. To further support those who are in work, from 1 April 2023 subject to parliamentary approval, the National Living Wage (NLW) will increase by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over - the largest ever cash increase for the NLW.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Nature Conservation

Lord Foster of Bath: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their target in their Environmental Impact Plan to "restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat", whether they have considered the advice of the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) that "habitat destruction and degradation could therefore continue in other areas, with negligible positive change overall"; and if so, whatestimate they have made of the amount of destruction and degradation that may occur in other areas.

Lord Benyon: Due to data limitations, we are not currently able to fully account for habitat lost and so we have not been able to set a target for net habitat restoration and creation. In order to ensure as far as possible that new habitat counted under our target is additional, we will only use reporting from live agri-environment scheme agreements, not count ‘compensatory habitat’ such as new habitat created to replace lost habitat as part of Biodiversity Net Gain, and only count ‘wildlife-rich’ habitats. Furthermore, as the target states that we will create ‘in excess of’ 500,000 hectares, this figure does not limit our ambition for action. To address the data limitations, we are developing an indicator for quantity, quality and connectivity of habitats as part of the Outcome Indicator Framework under the 25 Year Environment Plan. Work to finalise the methodology to allow the assessment of change in habitat quantity over time, at a national scale, is in development. The Environmental Improvement Plan set out the actions we are taking that will allow us to meet this ambitious target: we are investing more than £750 million in the environment through our Nature for Climate Fund, we have announced a new Species Survival Fund and we have set a target to raise at least £500 million in private finance to support nature’s recovery every year by 2027, rising to more than £1 billion by 2030.

African Swine Fever

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with (1) the EU, and (2) other pork export markets, regarding regionalisation in the event of an African swine fever outbreak in the UK.

Lord Benyon: If African swine fever (ASF) is detected in Great Britain, we would need to agree the process of regionalisation for GB exports with the EU and other trading partners, based on the individual circumstances. Defra will continue to make use of long-established communication channels with the respective Competent Authorities of trading partners to which the UK exports pork and pork products, in order to mitigate as far as possible the disruption to exports in the event of an ASF outbreak, including regionalisation.

Pigmeat: Imports

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of new laws, introduced on 1 September 2022, to restrict thenon-commercial importation of pork into the UK.

Lord Benyon: The latest risk assessment conducted by the Animal and Plant Health Agency of the risk of entry of the African swine fever (ASF) virus in live animals and products of animal origin from affected countries remains at medium. The risk through human-mediated routes such as introduction from non-commercial imports from ASF-affected areas (including illegal imports) or fomites is high. The strict new controls introduced on 1 September 2022 restrict the movement of pork and pork products into Great Britain from the European Union (EU) and European Free Trade Association states. It is no longer legal to personally bring in pork or pork products weighing over 2 kilograms unless they are produced to the EU’s commercial standards. Officials working at ports and airports continue to inspect vehicles and when illegally imported pork and pork products are identified these are seized and destroyed.

Food: Waste

Lord Shipley: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to incorporate farm stage food waste into food waste reduction targets; and if so, when.

Lord Benyon: The Government is committed to meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12.3 target. This target calls for a 50% reduction in food waste per capita at the retail and consumer levels and a reduction in food losses by 2030. This international goal has been made into a national target as part of the Government-funded Courtauld Commitment 2030. There are no plans at both SDG and Courtauld levels for targets for on-farm food waste reduction.

Air Pollution: Standards

Lord Pendry: To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards meeting their air quality improvement targets; and what assessment they have made ofcalls by members of themedical profession, such as in the letter to the Minister for Agri-Innovation and Climate Adaptation on 27 June 2022, for the introduction of more stringenttargets.

Lord Benyon: The UK’s Air Quality Standards Regulations require reporting of ambient air quality data on an annual basis. The annual report is published via the UK-AIR website (link: https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/library/annualreport/). The UK has domestic and international emission reduction commitments for NOx, SO2, NMVOCs, NH3 and PM2.5 for 2020-29 and 2030. These are reported on annually via our national statistics on the gov.uk and National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory websites. We have followed an evidence-based process to set the PM2.5 targets, working closely with internationally recognised experts and stakeholders. The views of medical professionals have been given due consideration, via input from the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution and the consultation process - our official response has been published. The wording of the Environment Act is clear; the Secretary of State must be satisfied that the targets can be met.

Home Office

Asylum: Children

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to provide independent guardians or advocates for all migrant children separated from their parents; if so, when they expect this to be offered throughout England and Wales; and whether specialist foster parents will be available.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: This Government takes its responsibility for the welfare of migrant children very seriously. We have comprehensive statutory and policy safeguards in place for caring for and safeguarding unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC).Social workers and the courts are best placed to make decisions for vulnerable children, in consideration of all the factors involved in often complex cases. Children should be cared for in a way that recognises and respects their identity and carers should be given the training and support they need to meet the child’s needs.Local authorities are responsible for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children in their area, including their mental health and emotional wellbeing needs, regardless of their immigration status. Independent Child Trafficking Guardians (ICTGs) are provided in addition to this statutory support and are an additional source of advice and support for potentially trafficked children, irrespective of nationality, and somebody who can advocate on their behalf.Due to the specialist nature of the ICTG service there is currently no intention to expand the scope to include all young asylum-seeking children in England and Wales whether or not they are separated from their parents.There are other provisions already in place to provide support for migrant children. Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children can access legal advice from qualified legal representatives and, in England, independent advice and assistance on the asylum process and in their interactions with government agencies is available from the Refugee Council’s Independent Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children Support Service (IUSS).

Football: Antisocial Behaviour

Lord Pendry: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to tackle disorder at football matches, given the reported increase the number of arrests at matches, and increase in banning orders issued by the courts.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: We are clear that law abiding fans should be able to enjoy football matches in safety and that violent and disorderly behaviour will not be tolerated.We have extended coverage of football banning orders to persons convicted of Class A drugs offences at matches, elite domestic women’s football and online hate crime offences connected to footballWe have also amended the threshold test to increase the likelihood that a court will impose a banning order following a conviction for football-related offences that are violent, disorderly or cause harm to others.

Biometrics: Data Protection

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any security threat posed by the collection of biometric data by direct-to-consumer DNA testing ancestry companies.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The Home Office has made no such assessment.

Deportation: Albania

Lord Rosser: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Murray of Blidworth on 21 December 2022 (HL4067), what estimate they have made, if any, of (1) the expected costs of deportations ofAlbanian nationals who have travelled to the UK via small boats, and (2) the expected numbers ofAlbanian citizens who will be deported in 2023.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: Costs for individual flights will vary based on a number of different factors and are regularly reviewed to ensure that best value for money is balanced against the need to remove those individuals with no right to remain in the UK.We do not routinely disclose commercial or operational information relating to individual charter flights. Nor do we provide pre-emptive figures for the number of individuals who are expected to be removed from the UK. The Home Office publishes statistics on all types of removals from the UK.

Biometric Residence Permits: Standards

Lord Rosser: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Murray of Blidworth on 3 January (HL4343), on how many days on average it takes for animmigration decision relating to issuing a Biometric Residence Permit to be (1) taken, and (2) received; and how many Biometric Residence Permits took more than 48 hours after an immigration decision to be received in (a) 2021, and (b) 2022.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The waiting times for BRPs are dictated by the BRP production and delivery processes. We aim to deliver a BRP within 7 working days of the immigration decision. BRPs are produced within 48 hours of the production request being made and are collected by our secure delivery partner the same day who attempt to deliver the BRPs within 48 hours of receipt. This equates to a minimum of 5 working days from date of production request being made to delivery of the BRP. BRP production data does not form part of the Transparency Data and is not publicly available.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Lord Rosser: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Williams of Trafford on 1 August 2022 (HL1923), whether they have now produced a forecast for 2023 of numbers of small boats crossing the English Channel; and if so, (1) how such a forecast was produced, and (2) when that forecasting started.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The Home Office considers a range of potential arrival volumes for the coming year as part of its planning for these dangerous, illegal and unnecessary crossings. However, these are planning scenarios, not forecasts or predictions, and there are no plans to publish them. In 2022, over 45,000 people arrived in the UK as a result of these crossings.

Asylum: Housing

Lord Rosser: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Murray of Blidworth on 19 December 2022 (HL4037), why the Full Dispersal Model only applies in England, Wales and Scotland.

Lord Rosser: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Murray of Blidworth on 19 December 2022 (HL4037), whether there is a cap onthe number of asylum seekers per 100,000 resident population in the Full Dispersal Model.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: Currently there is no cap on the number of asylum seekers per 100,000 of the resident population. However, to support full dispersal plans have been developed in partnership with local government across the 9 England regions and Scotland and Wales, to agree a more equitable spread of dispersed accommodation across the UK. These plans ensure that no individual area is asked to support more than 0.5 per cent of its resident population. Northern Ireland is not excluded from dispersal; they accommodate asylum seekers who arrive and claim asylum in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is not listed under the Full Dispersal Model as we don’t routinely transport people across the Irish Sea. However, they do have an active role in helping us meet our statutory obligations.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask His Majesty's Government what processes theyhave put in place to allow people on Pathway 1 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme to be joined by family members who were not evacuated to the UK under Operation Pitting; and why those resettled under this Pathway do not have access to the right to refugee family reunion so as to sponsor relatives to join them in the UK.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: In line with our existing policy, those resettled under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) may be able to be accompanied by their immediate family members including their spouse or partner, and dependent children under 18.This government’s family reunion policy allows those recognised as refugees or granted humanitarian protection in the UK to sponsor pre-flight, immediate family members to join them here. Only those referred by UNHCR, under Pathway 2 of the ACRS, will have refugee status. They will, therefore, be able to access the refugee family reunion route.For those evacuated from Afghanistan under the ACRS without their immediate family members, further information will be made available in due course about options for reuniting with them.Those already in the UK under ACRS Pathway 1, wishing to bring family members other than immediate family members would need to apply through the regular family visa route under Appendix FM of the Immigration rules.The government remains committed to providing protection for vulnerable and at-risk people fleeing Afghanistan. The situation is very complex and presents significant challenges, including how those who are eligible for resettlement in the UK can leave the country. This includes the eligible family members of those being resettled under the ACRS.

Metropolitan Police: Vetting

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Metropolitan Police Service adopted the Selection Entrance Assessment for Recruiting Candidates Holistically(SEARCH) vetting process; if not, why not; and if so, (1) when the application started, and (2) whether it is still in use; and if it is not still in use, when its use ceased.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: Decisions about police recruitment, including how recruitment and selection processes are run, are a matter for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, in the case of the Metropolitan Police the Mayor of London, and are therefore managed locally by forces. This is done within a national application, assessment and selection framework, in line with national guidance maintained by the College of Policing.The SEARCH assessment centre was introduced as the national assessment centre for police officer candidates in 2002. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) used SEARCH as its assessment until April 2018 when a new assessment centre pilot was introduced in the MPS called Day One.In May 2020 the College of Policing introduced the Online Assessment Process (OAP) in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. This was adopted by all forces who now use the OAP for assessing candidates.Vetting of police officer candidates is a separate post assessment stage carried out by forces as part of mandatory pre-employment checks.Police forces carry out their vetting in line with the College of Policing’s statutory code of practice on vetting and vetting authorised professional practice (APP) guidance which were introduced in 2017. The Home Secretary has recently asked the College of Policing to strengthen the statutory code of practice on vetting to make the obligations all forces must legally follow stricter and clearer.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Voting Rights: Republic of Ireland

Lord Kilclooney: To ask His Majesty's Government whether Irish citizens resident in Great Britain under the Common Travel Area have the right to vote in (1) general elections, (2) local elections, and (3) referendums; and whether UK citizens resident in the Republic of Ireland have the same rights to vote in (4) general elections, (5) local elections, and (6) referendums.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland have a long-standing reciprocal arrangement on voting rights between the two countries. Irish citizens resident in the UK can vote in UK Parliamentary and local elections. The franchise for UK-wide referendums is set on a case-by-case in the legislation providing for the referendum. British citizens resident in the Republic of Ireland can vote at Dail and local Elections but not in Presidential elections or referendums held in the Republic unless the British citizen is a also an Irish citizen.

Housing: Repairs and Maintenance

Lord Naseby: To ask His Majesty's Government why they are proposing that UK housebuilders pay for remedial work to buildings other than those they built, following the Grenfell fire.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: Developers must make a fair contribution to the overall costs of making buildings safe, reflecting the wider benefit they derive from a well-functioning market, and the substantial funding and support the government has and continues to provide to the housing market.The Government has already committed £5.1 billion to fund remediation of unsafe cladding. The Building Safety Levy is a key element of ensuring that the burden of paying for fixing historic building safety defects does not fall on leaseholders and does not further burden taxpayers.

Cabinet Office

Common Travel Area

Lord Kilclooney: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Common Travel Area, what is the estimated number of (1) UK citizens in the Republic of Ireland, and (2) Irish citizens in Great Britain.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Question of 25 January is attached. The Rt Hon the Lord of KilclooneyHouse of LordsLondonSW1A 0PW1 February 2023Dear Lord Kilclooney,As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking further to the Common Travel Area, what is the estimated number of (1) UK citizens in the Republic of Ireland, and (2) Irish citizens in Great Britain (HL5084).The Office for National Statistics (ONS) does not produce estimates of the number of UK citizens living in Ireland. That country’s Central Statistics Office estimated that 103,113 UK citizens were living in Ireland in April 2016 (1). Population by nationality estimates based on the Annual Population Survey (APS) show that there were an estimated 330,000 Irish nationals resident in Great Britain in June 2021 (2).The 2021 Census for England and Wales and the corresponding Census for Scotland, which due to the Covid pandemic was delayed until 2022, asked respondents about passports held which can be used as some proxy for citizenship. The relevant Census figures have not yet been published, though the first release of data on this topic for England and Wales showed that an estimated 364,726 residents of these countries held an Irish passport but not a UK passport (3).Yours sincerely,Professor Sir Ian Diamond 1 https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cpnin/cpnin/uk/2 Table 2.4, https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/datasets/populationoftheunitedkingdombycountryofbirthandnationalityNote that data from this source below UK, EU and non-EU level should be treated with caution and not be compared with previous years due to the introduction of a new weighting methodology to reflect the change in survey operations during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. These statistics were discontinued in October 20223 Table TS005, https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2021_tsUKSA Response (pdf, 111.3KB)

Treasury

Duchy of Cornwall: Arbitration

Lord Berkeley: To ask His Majesty's Government on whatoccasions, and for what purposes, the Duchy of Cornwall has (1) sought, and (2) been given, approval to start arbitration proceedings under the Duchy of Cornwall Management Act 1863.

Baroness Penn: The requirement for the Duchy of Cornwall to seek Treasury consent before referring a matter to arbitration are contained in section 18 of the Duchy of Cornwall Act 1863. This requirement would only arise in very specific and narrow circumstances, where both the Duchy and the counterparty with whom the Duchy has a dispute elect that the matter be settled by arbitration. Treasury consent is not required where the Duchy is otherwise statutorily bound to enter into arbitration proceedings. Since the start of 2001, His Majesty’s Treasury has received no applications to start arbitration proceedings under the Duchy of Cornwall Management Act 1863. The costs of establishing whether any application was received prior to that date could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Broadband and Mobile Phones: Rural Areas

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) broadband, and (2) mobile phone,connectivity in rural areas.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: Over 73% of premises in the UK can now access gigabit-capable broadband, which is a huge leap forward from January 2019, when coverage was just 6%. The competitive and pro-growth regulatory environment we have created is enabling suppliers to expand their networks to reach more homes and businesses, and we are making excellent progress with Project Gigabit, delivering fast, reliable broadband to rural and hard-to-reach parts of the UK.We are awarding a series of contracts to suppliers to deliver gigabit-capable connectivity in areas to which the market will not go without subsidy. We have already awarded six contracts and, in total, have made almost £1 billion of funding available through our live contracts and procurements, covering up to 681,500 premises. We have also recently increased the maximum value of vouchers through the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme to support suppliers to connect premises in particularly hard-to-reach areas.Mobile phone connectivity continues to improve in rural areas via the Government's £1 billion deal with mobile network operators to deliver the Shared Rural Network. The programme will see operators collectively increase the UK’s 4G geographic mobile network coverage to 95%; this will reduce rural ‘not spots’, levelling up coverage between rural and urban areas.The operators have already deployed more than 150 new sites and have upgraded over 1,300 sites across the UK since the programme began in 2020. 4G coverage across the UK has increased to 92.2%, as the early impact from the Shared Rural Network took effect.

5G

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of (1) rural, and (2) non-rural, areas have 5G network coverage.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: Ofcom is responsible for reporting on 5G coverage in Connected Nations. Ofcom first reported on 5G coverage in 2021 and is refining its measuring and reporting of this. Ofcom does not currently report on 5G availability in rural compared to non-rural areas.According to Ofcom, (basic) ‘non-standalone’ 5G is available with a high degree of confidence from at least one mobile network operator outside 77% of UK premises.Our forthcoming Wireless Infrastructure Strategy will articulate a clear vision for how advanced wireless infrastructure can become an integral part of the fabric of the UK's economy and society by 2030. We aim to publish the strategy in early 2023.

A303: Stonehenge

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers byLord Parkinson of Whitley Bay on 20 December (HL4099 and HL4100), what assessment they have made of the proposed A303 road widening scheme on the archaeological sites in the area, particularly the remains of an early Neolithic settlement within the land known as Bow Tie Field; and whether the proposed road tunnels as part of that scheme would have an adverse impact on the integrity of The Avenue.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: National Highways conducted a comprehensive Heritage Impact Assessment in line with relevant guidance at the time that the Development Consent Order application was made, and this was considered to represent a thorough process by the delegates of the most recent UNESCO Advisory Mission. The Heritage Impact Assessment made an assessment of the proposed A303 scheme on all the known archaeological sites in Bow Tie field, whether they were designated (i.e. scheduled monuments including Stonehenge, the Avenue, and three barrows adjacent to the Avenue forming part of a round barrow cemetery on Countess Farm: NHLE 1010140) or non-designated, and assessed the effect of the proposals on the Outstanding Universal Value of the Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites World Heritage Site. The answer to the parliamentary question submitted on 20 December 2022 contains further information, including about archaeological evaluation carried out to date.The Avenue is protected as part of a Scheduled Monument. The A303 scheme has been designed not to have a direct impact on any Scheduled Monuments and to minimise adverse impacts on their setting. National Highways will work with the National Trust to minimise the impact to heritage (such as the archaeology and grassland) at Bow Tie Field which may be affected by future compulsory acquisition as part of implementation of the proposed A303 scheme. The scheme is currently with the Secretary of State for Transport for re-determination. Since this is a live planning application, the Department cannot comment further.

National Heritage Memorial Fund: Stonehenge

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers byLord Parkinson of Whitley Bay on 20 December (HL4099 and HL4100), whether the grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund was for both (1) the buy out of the leasehold interest of the 151 acres of land already owned by the Trust in area, and (2) the purchase of the 21.6 acres of land known as Bow Tie Field; and if so, why the grant for purchase of Bow Tie Field was considered necessary to deliver the positive impact of the grant.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The National Trust negotiated to acquire the leasehold interest of an Agricultural Holdings Act tenancy of 151 hectares over land that the National Trust already owned, and a further 21 hectares of outright acquisition of freehold land known as Bow Tie Field. The National Heritage Memorial Fund grant was awarded to the National Trust to secure both areas of land.The National Heritage Memorial Fund recognised the positive impact of supporting the acquisition of this significant area of land containing internationally and nationally important ancient monuments which were at risk. The benefits of the National Trust taking ownership and management of this land, safeguarding nationally important monuments, was considered to justify the grant award.

National Heritage Memorial Fund: Stonehenge

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Parkinson of Whitley Bay on 2 November 2022 (HL2728), what was the basis of the advice to the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) that “61 archaeological sites, including a substantial part of the Stonehenge Avenue, [were] all under extreme risk of loss due to ploughing”, and that "if the purchase did not go ahead Scheduled Monuments on the site would be lost completely within 10 years”.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: As part of the application process for grant funding to the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the National Trust provided a condition survey which highlighted, among the 61 at-risk archaeological sites, that 15 scheduled monuments and 34 unscheduled monuments across both parcels of land were at imminent risk of loss. These included the Stonehenge Avenue, Conebury Henge, the Conebury Anomaly, Neolithic burials and occupation sites, and numerous Bronze Age round barrows. The report concluded that, unless arable cultivation ceased, it was likely that much, if not all, of what remained of these monuments could have been lost to the plough within a decade.In assessing the application, the National Heritage Memorial Fund sought expert advice, which concluded that, if these important sites remained under arable cultivation, they would continue to be at risk and subject to denudation and ultimately loss, as there was no alternative strategy that could be readily agreed to secure the survival of these sites and features.